Team Stats

Passing Yards

Rushing Yards

Turnovers

Time of Poss.

BALTIMORE, MD - Down by eight entering the fourth quarter, the
12th-ranked Johns Hopkins football team got a pair of touchdowns
from senior wide receiver Dan Wodicka as the Blue Jays rallied past
Ursinus, 24-18, at Homewood Field Saturday afternoon. The win
improves the Blue Jays' record to 8-0 overall and 7-0 in the
Centennial Conference and secures at least a share of the
conference title for the fifth straight year for Johns Hopkins.

Johns Hopkins can clinch the outright title and the league's
automatic berth in the upcoming NCAA Playoffs with a win next week
against Franklin & Marshall.

The Bears outscored the Blue Jays 10-0 in the third quarter to a
turn a 10-8 halftime deficit into the 18-10 lead that they would
carry into the final quarter. A 76-yard touchdown reception by
Jerry Rahill and a 36-yard field by Eric Boyer accounted for the
10-point surge for the Bears.

After the teams traded punts after Boyer's field goal, the Blue
Jays took over at their own 10-yard line late in the third quarter.
Mixing the running of sophomore Brandon
Cherry and freshman Stuart
Walters and the passing of senior Robbie
Matey, the Blue Jays went 90 yards in 15 plays and Matey found
Wodicka open down the middle from eight yards out to pull the Blue
Jays within two - the two-point attempt failed and the Bears held
an 18-16 lead less than two minutes into the fourth quarter.

The Blue Jays forced a three-and-out on Ursinus' ensuing
possession and quickly moved inside the Ursinus 10, but a fumble at
the five-yard line ended that threat and the Bears took over deep
in their own territory.

Two plays later, junior Chris
Ibrahim intercepted a Kevin Monahan pass across the middle to
give the Blue Jays possession at the UC 33. Four tough runs by
Cherry set the Blue Jays up at the 21 and Matey hit Wodicka in
stride down the middle two plays later to give the Blue Jays a
22-18 lead. Matey scampered in on the two-point attempt to make it
24-18 with 6:30 remaining.

Ursinus had three possessions down the stretch, but a
three-and-out ended the first, a Ryan
Rice interception ended the second and Monahan misfired to
Rahill on third an fourth-and-one from the Johns Hopkins 45 with
less than a minute to play to seal the victory for the Blue
Jays.

In a game where neither team was able to distance itself from
the other, the Blue Jays took an early 3-0 lead on a 32-yard field
goal by freshman Nick
Campbell midway through the first quarter.

The Bears (6-2, 5-2 CC) needed just over two minutes to strike
back as Rahill got behind the defense and made an acrobatic catch
that he turned into a 69-yard touchdown reception to give the Bears
a 6-3 lead; Boyer was wide left on the extra point.

The three-point lead swelled to five on the ensuing kickoff as
JHU failed to handle the kickoff and freshman Bradley
Munday was tackled in the end zone for a safety to make it 8-3
with just over four minutes remaining in the first quarter.

The five-point lead held until the middle of the second quarter,
when the Blue Jays put together the first of two scoring drives
that covered 90+ yards. Taking over at their own two-yard line
after a Boyer punt, the Blue Jays worked their way out of trouble
by riding the efforts of Cherry, Walters and JD
Abbott and only once on a 14-play, 98-yard drive were the Blue
Jays faced with a third down. Walters (25), Abbott (21) and Cherry
(16) combined for 62 yards on the 98-yard drive, which Abbott
capped with a three-yard run to give JHU a 10-8 lead it would carry
into halftime.

Ursinus struck first in the second half when Monahan hit Rahill
in stride down the middle of the field with the 76-yard touchdown
pass. When Boyer connected from 36 yards out on Ursinus' next
possession, the Bears had their eight-point lead and the Blue Jays
were faced with their biggest deficit of the season. That set the
stage for the Blue Jays' fourth-quarter rally, which wasn't secure
until the Blue Jay defense came up with its final stand of the game
in the last minute.

Johns Hopkins held a 429-323 advantage in total offense as the
Blue Jays ran 92 plays to just 65 for the Bears and controlled the
ball for nearly 35 minutes (34:56).

Cherry led a Johns Hopkins ground game that rolled up 242 yards
as he posted his third consecutive 100-yard rushing game with 122
yards on the day. Walters added 66 yards on just nine carries and
Abbott chipped in with 33 yards and the one touchdown on eight
carries.

Matey was 20-of-33 for 184 yards with the two fourth quarter
touchdown passes to Wodicka, who had five receptions for 65 yards.
Munday had a career-high eight receptions for 54 yards.

Save for the two long touchdown catches by Rahill, the Blue Jay
defense held the Bears to 178 yards on its other 63 plays. Ursinus
entered the game ranked seventh in the nation in third-down
percentage, but managed to convert just 4-of-15 and never got a
rushing game going as the Bears totaled just 43 yards on 25
rushes.

Rahill, who entered the game as the Centennial's leading
receiver, had eight receptions for 202 yards and the two
touchdowns, while Monahan was 16-of-40 for 280 yards with the two
touchdowns and two fourth-quarter interceptions.

Notes: Wodicka's final catch of the game - the
16-yard touchdown reception - pushed him past 3,000 career
receiving yards (3,008)
• Cherry's 122 yards pushed him past 1,000 for his career
(1,021)
• JHU is 8-0 for the third consecutive year and is one win shy
of all-time victory number 500 (499-476-58).